No. 18 penalized, Kyle Busch to start from the back in Richmond

Kyle Busch will start at the rear of the field tonight at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) after his car failed pre-race inspection.

The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry failed twice. There were no other issues ahead of the Federated Auto Parts 400, the second race in the Round of 16 for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Busch, the defending series champion, would have started sixth. He is still winless this season and enters Richmond 10th on the playoff grid, just seven points above the cutline.

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Saturday night Busch will also work with an interim crew chief, Jacob Canter. Adam Stevens is serving a one-race suspension after two lug nuts were not safe and secure on Busch’s Camry last weekend at Darlington Raceway.

“I’m not sure with technology today and the war room and all that stuff at Joe Gibbs Racing – with the communications and all that stuff that we have going on right now – that much is going to be different (with Canter) at all, really,” said Busch this week. “Especially with no practice and none of that stuff, basically just calling a race – the only thing that sometimes Adam can see is essentially the car going down the front straightaway by him. There’s no seeing the car on top of the truck or seeing what it does on that. They’re still going to have the same photos available to them, the TV coverage available to him. I don’t know that it’s going to be all that different.

“Me talking on the radio is basically me talking directly to Adam; it’s just I can’t hear back from Adam. That will be all information coming back to me from Jacob. I don’t foresee it being a whole lot different. Obviously, the car back at the shop is all set up by Adam and everything else; it’s just a guy on top of the box.”